Gardens Outdoor Fine Woodworking

http://www.finewoodworking.com OUTDOOR PROJECTS 71

the end of the blank where the tenon ends.

Then move to the tablesaw. Instead of rely-

ing on the angle gauge, use the angle on

the end of the arm blank, resting it against

the stop block and angling the miter fence

to meet it. Then cut the shoulder on both

arms, adjust the miter gauge to the other

side of 9°, and cut the other shoulder.

Next, bring the arms to the tenoning jig,

lay the 9º angle flat on the table, clamp

it into the jig, and cut the tenons. Again,

lay out the width of the tenon and cut it

freehand on the bandsaw. Then remove

the waste with a handsaw and round the

edges with a rasp.

Curved pieces create an Asian feel

Now you are ready to cut the curves for

the armrests and crest rail. Again, careful

layout is the key. With a pencil, draw the

shape directly on the stock. Create the ra-

dius at the ends with a compass. For the

long curves, I simply bend a thin piece

of MDF, held back by clamps, and trace

the line. Step back and look at the lines,

redrawing them until they look good.

Once I have settled on the shape, I cut

it close to the line on the bandsaw, and

then finish at the spindle sander or with

a sanding drum on the drill press. If you

are unhappy with the smoothness of the

curve after using the spindle sander, some

aggressive sandpaper, a slightly curved

sanding block, and good old-fashioned

elbow grease will smooth out the curve

make the splats

nicely. When I have to make two identical

parts, like the armrests, I work one at a

time, using the first piece as a pattern for

the second. I do this because the stock is

thick. Ganged together, it measures 5 in.,

and I can only sand up to 4 in. with my

spindle sander.

Use two jigs to taper the back splats

I dry-fit and clamp the whole bench ex-

cept for the armrests. Doing this allows me

to measure for the back splats. I can deter-

mine their exact length from shoulder to

shoulder, cut the tenons while the pieces

are still square, and then create the taper.

After I’ve accurately measured the size of

the back splats, I make the tenons using

the same method used previously.

The center rail is joined to the two center

splats with a mortise and tenon. It is easier

to cut the mortises in the two center splats

before proceeding with the tapers. This

Real-world measurement. Dry-fitting

makes it easy to measure the exact shoulder-

to-shoulder dimensions of the back splats.

Taper the back splats after cutting the

tenons. Use two jigs to create the tapered

back splats. The first holds the square splat

and the second (shown) holds the splat that

has one side already tapered.

Mark the center rail. Add the tapered back splats to the dry-fit assembly, and clamp the center

rail in position so you can mark its tenon shoulders.

FWSIP27OP-JE.indd 71 1/30/13 5:46 PM